The Charge

Opening Statement

America's post-Vietnam, all-beef action hero returns fire in high-def and the
Commies will suffer. Oh yes they will suffer.

Facts of the Case

John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone, Rocky Balboa) is a highly-decorated
Vietnam combat vet, skilled in the art of guerilla warfare and supremely lethal
when f-ed with.

Just ask the redneck sheriff's department (First Blood), the combined
forces of the North Vietnamese and the Russians (First Blood Part II) and
the entire Soviet invasion force of Afghanistan (Rambo III). Apparently
no one gets the memo, but that's fine because that just means more people to
shoot in the nose with explosive-tipped arrows.

The Evidence

John Rambo is an iconic American film figure for good reason. He sports all
the characteristics we love in our action stars: he doesn't talk through his
problems, choosing to communicate through gunfire and stabbing; he's invincible,
repelling even the fiercest attacks from napalm and missiles and trees; he
doesn't leave his men behind, no matter what the blubbering Washington
bureaucrats say; he stands up for his fellow soldiers even when dickhead hippies
call them babykillers; he breaks necks while covered in mud; he jumps off of
cliffs; he fights for money; he blows up small towns in the Pacific Northwest;
he slaughters the real-life enemies of the United States; he kills wild boars
with his bare hands.

His maiden voyage into cinematic lore, First Blood was far from the
typical action movie extravaganza. Wandering around with little direction, the
John Rambo we see in the first movie is a listless, damaged soul, the horrors of
Vietnam festering beneath his façade. He runs into some slack-jawed yokel
cops that immediately give him a hard time, pushing and pushing, forcing him to
rebel and from then on, the viewer is thrust into a weird situation: the main
character engaged in a violent mini-war with small-town-America authorities.
First Blood could technically be called an anti-war movie, as we see the
traumatic effects combat has had on our hero. Rambo's nervous breakdown at the
end is as heartbreaking an anti-war statement as you can get. But what it
certainly is not is anti-soldier, unlike much of the "anti-war" sculch
that's coming out of Hollywood these days, where America's warriors are
psychotic or naïve or pathetic. It is very clear that Stallone and company
are making a statement about the shabby treatment of Vietnam vets upon their
return home, and judging by the box office numbers and popular reception of the
film, it's evident that this redemptive look at the Vietnam soldier was
cathartic.

If First Blood was cathartic, then First Blood: Part II was a
climactic Howitzer blast of ejaculate. Not content with moving beyond the
horrors of Vietnam, Rambo opts to go back and do things the right way -- the
Rambo way. And that means undertaking a covert mission to bring back
American POWs. When Colonel Trautman (Richard Crenna) approaches a
now-incarcerated Rambo about the mission, dangling a Presidential pardon as
incentive, John agrees, asking "Do we get to win this time?" Oh, hellz
yeah! So into the lion's den Rambo goes again, and promptly finds himself
engaging the North Vietnamese and a special, surprise guest -- Soviets! All the
pent-up angst over the Tet Offensive and the fall of Saigon and the
peacenik-spitting erupts into a flurry of bullets and bazooka fire and yada yada
yada the Commie body count is in the triple figures and America's bravest are
back home and Rambo's triceps are nearly the size of the Catskills. Rambo
II is a great action picture, jammed with big set-ups including a chopper
chase, one-man guerilla warfare, RPGs to the face and the world record for most
exploding huts in a feature film.

Then along marches Rambo III, with our hero now biding time in a
monastery and earning some extra coin on the side through no-holds-barred
stick-fighting. Trautman once again reappears in his life and invites him on a
mission into Afghanistan, to covertly join the Afghans in their fight against
the invading forces of the Soviet Union. Rambo passes, but after Trautman is
captured by the Russkies, decides to go in and get him out. He meets some Afghan
freedom fighters, who aid him in his quest to blow the @#$% out of their
country. The political subtext of the Soviet massacre of the Afghan people is
here, but overwhelmed by the sheer amount of carnage that goes down. Rambo
infiltrates a Soviet fort and kills a bunch of guys, commandeers an attack
helicopter and kills a bunch of guys, squares off with an entire legion of the
USSR's best troops with only a rifle and a grenade thrower and kills a bunch of
guys and jumps in a tank, rams a helicopter and kills a bunch of guys. The
action is glorious, but I'd be lying if I said this third chapter didn't start
to slip into the realm of self-parody.

The Discs

First Blood

For a 26-year old film, First Blood looks surprisingly good in its
new Blu-ray outfit. The Pacific Northwest setting offers a woodsy, gritty
setting, but the 1080p upgrade renders the surroundings well. Much of the action
takes place in the forests and the earthy color levels stay strong throughout.
When the mayhem shifts to the town in the final act the color palette changes
and gives the HD transfer more to work with. Explosions, gunfire, police lights,
it all looks great -- for an older movie. The audio (DTS HD and 5.1 Dolby
Digital EX) is clean but not hugely dynamic. The mix gets more active when the
major action kicks in.

Extras: Two commentary tracks, one with Stallone and one with author David
Morrell, a trivia track, deleted scenes and, the highlight, a terrific
documentary called "Drawing First Blood."

First Blood: Part II

Wow, what a difference three years makes. If the original film looked
moderately better on Blu, the sequel is an evolution that can only be measured
in light years. Thirteen years old, but rivaling the picture quality of more
modern HD releases, Rambo II is a feast for the eyes. And with the jungle
setting of the film, that feast is rich. Lush foliage, contrasted with giant
balls of pyrotechnics makes for an absolutely beautiful display. Really, this
video treatment is off the charts. The DTS HD Master track has a lot more to do
this time around, and when Rambo gets cooking, the sound work is aggressive.

Extras: A laid-back commentary track with director George Cosmatos, trivia
and the second part in the documentary series, titled "We Get to Win This
Time."

Rambo III

Another excellent-looking bump in picture quality gives the films 2.35:1
treatment some real sizzle. With the deserts of Afghanistan as the backdrop, the
bright, arid colors are rich in all of their 1080p glory, and the beaucoup
military hijinks that unfold pop from the screen. Detailing holds up admirably
in darker sequences (the prison infiltration and seer escape). This DTS track
(5.1 HD Master) is more active than in the other two discs. Then again, the
level of things happening on-screen is upped as well.

Extras: (Sporadic) commentary from director Peter MacDonald, a fine
documentary called "Afghanistan: Land in Crisis" and the trivia track.

Closing Statement

Rambo's high-def debut is a shotgun blast to the crotch...in a good way. The
films looks great, sound great and, as far as Reagan-era hardcore shoot'em up
action bonanzas go, are great. Grab your ammo belt and roll out.